Star Maidens

Background

Star Maidens was a British-German science-fiction television series that followed the success of Space: 1999. Though it had a much smaller budget, it shared key crew members with that show, including production designer Keith Wilson, sound editor Peter Pennell, and special effects by Allan Bryce, giving it a similar visual style. Actresses Judy Geeson and Lisa Harrow had both previously appeared in Space: 1999 episodes.

The series was produced by Portman Productions in 1975, partly financed by a German company, and first aired on ITV in 1976. It ran for a single season of thirteen half-hour episodes. A creative clash between the German producers, who wanted a sex comedy, and the British producers, who aimed for intelligent science fiction, likely caused the show to end after one season, despite selling well internationally.

Synopsis

Planet Medusa, home to a highly evolved and technologically advanced humanoid race ruled by women, is knocked out of its orbit around Proxima Centauri by a rogue comet. Eventually, Medusa enters Earth's solar system. Two Medusan males, Adam (Pierre Brice) and Shem (Gareth Thomas), escape to Earth using a recently repaired ship.

The pair are consequently pursued by Medusan security forces. When the Medusans, led by Supreme Councillors Fulvia (Judy Geeson) and Octavia (Christiane Krüger), fail to re-capture their two men, they take two human hostages – Dr Rudi Schmidt (Christian Quadflieg) and his assistant Dr Liz Becker (Lisa Harrow). The series focuses on the two groups' attempts to adapt to life on the different planets while brokering an exchange for the hostages.

Reception

The series gained healthy global sales to over forty territories in Europe, Arab countries, South Africa, Australia, Canada, and the United States, where it ran on New York's WNEW-TV in 1978. Nevertheless, unlike contemporary British sci-fi shows like Doctor Who, Space: 1999, or Blakes 7, Star Maidens failed to gather a large Anglophone fan-base. Inconsistent time slots on ITV during the series' first run may be partly responsible for its failure to gain a wide audience. In The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, writer and journalist John Brosnan blamed the series' cost (high by British TV standards) and low audience rates for the show's cancellation after one season.

Merchandise

All thirteen episodes of Star Maidens were released on Region 2 DVD from Delta Entertainment in 2005. The two-disc set includes an interview with actor Gareth Thomas as a special feature.

In 2017, the series was re-released on DVD by Simply Media with new cover artwork. A novelisation of the series, written by Ian Evans (a pen-name of sci-fi author Angus Wells), was published in the United Kingdom by Corgi Books in 1977. A large format tie-in hardback album with photos, stories, and comic strips was published by Stafford Pemberton in 1978.

Did You Know?

• Lead actress Judy Geeson had previously appeared in Space: 1999's episode 'Another Time, Another Place'.
• According to the 2005 DVD release notes, German producers intended the series as a sex comedy, while British producers wanted intelligent science fiction.